County Departments

The Assessor is responsible for the assessment of all personal and real estate properties within the county per Arkansas State Code §26-26-717.

Duties include:

•Record and process all real estate transactions on the assessment books for transfer of ownership and tax statements
•Provide a balanced total of the assessed value of all real personal and utility property to the State of Arkansas
•Authorize corrections on the collector’s books each year after tax collections have begun
•Process all land annexation to the cities of Phillips County
•Verify ownership of real or personal property for the Department of Human Services, Social Services, and other public and private agencies
•Process and file Homestead Property Tax Refund application

Circuit Clerk - Lynn Stillwell | 870-338-5515

The Circuit Clerk is the focal point for the orderly flow of paperwork through the Circuit, Chancery, and Juvenile Courts of the county. The duties are:

•Issue notices, summons, subpoenas, and order to appear
•Report to the Administrative office of the Courts all case filings and dispositions
•Prepare a list of prospective jurors, docket cases, and swear in witnesses
•Compile the transcript of a court proceedings and submit to the Supreme Court of Arkansas or Arkansas Court of Appeals when needed
•Maintain a permanent record of all deeds, mortgages, conveyances of land and buildings, plat maps, and survey of subdivisions
•Conduct lean searches
•Maintain a permanent record of all power of attorneys, assignments, subordinations, releases, deeds of trust and mortgages, material-man’s & mechanics liens, tax liens, judgments, soldier & sailors discharges, performance bonds, notary public bonds, and public official bonds and deputations
•Submit a copy of all deeds, upon filing, to the Assessor
Domestic Relations

NOTE: Public viewing of Land Records is available by registering with www.etitlesearch.com by visiting the Circuit Clerk’s office from 8:00 AM to 4:15 PM, Monday through Friday. Records begin with 1820 to present

Uniform Commercial Code Documents

Maintain records of UCCs, Extensions and Modifications on Farm equipment.

Jury Pool

Prepare Order to pull Jury from the Administrative Office of the Courts Juror Program for Circuit Term of Court; prepare and print Summons, mail, process Summons upon return from Jurors, prepare Excused and Responded Juror lists; prepare and maintain Jury Payroll Records; conduct Jury Orientation on first day of reporting. A jury website is available at www.firstjudcirar.org.

Commissioner Sales

When appointed by the Circuit Judge, the Circuit Clerk conducts foreclosure sales. The Clerk does not handle “non-judicial foreclosures”. The Clerk must schedule the Commissioner’s Sale, publish Notice of Sale, conduct sale, process pleadings with regard to the sale, set up trust account for sale, ie. Proof of Publication, Report of Sale, Order Approving the Sale, Order of Distribution and Closing Sale.

Collector - Neal Byrd | 870-338-5580

The collector is responsible for collecting all property taxes from the first day of March to the fifteenth day of October during the calendar year after they are assessed. Any real or personal property taxes not paid by October 15 of each year are considered delinquent and the collector extends a 10% penalty against the taxpayer (ACA 26-36-201). Before December 1 of each year, the collector prepares a list of delinquent property taxes and delivers the list to a legal newspaper for publication. All lands upon which the taxes have not been paid for one (1) year following the date the taxes are due are forfeited to the State of Arkansas and transmitted by certification to the Commissioner of State Lands for collection or sale (ACA 26-37-101).

•Keeping an accurate account of all county expenditure
•Maintaining files for all documents, vouchers, and other papers pertaining to the settlement of any account to which the county is involved
•Prepares all checks ordered to be paid by the County Judge
•Prepares payroll and maintains county employee personnel files
•Secretary to the Quorum Court and maintain a complete permanent record of all minutes, ordinances, and resolutions pertaining to the Quorum Court,
•Maintains a permanent record of all petitions, wills, orders, mental commitments, underage marriages, letters of administration, and letters of testamentary and guardianships pertaining to probate court
•Serves as secretary to the equalization board
•Processing voter registration forms in the state data base
•All aspects of elections to include maintaining a list of candidates, and precinct maps
•Print the assessment books for the Assessor
•Record all ministers credentials
•Record and issue marriage licenses
•Maintain a permanent record of all Articles of Incorporation

County Coroner - Earnest Larry | 870-572-5830

The Coroner is responsible for reporting all county deaths and performing a full investigation, with the exception of hospice and natural cause hospital deaths (minimum of 24 hour stay at the hospital).

The County Judge position is not required to have a legal background. He is the county administrator and the official spokesman for the county. He is responsible for:

•All county property and maintenance and construction of county roads and bridges
•Presiding over the Quorum Court with veto power
•All county grants to be administered by the county
•Administers funds for the needs of the indigent
•Giving final approval for all county payables
•Appoints all administrative board member
•Presides over the Equalization Board hearing
•All county insurance
•The county budget process

Justice Of The Peace

The Justices of the Peace, more commonly referred to as “JP’s, sit on the quorum court. They are the governing body of county government. Their responsibility is to pass ordinances, resolutions, and establish the number of employees per office and salaries. They are also responsible for filling vacancies of elected county offices if the situation should arise. The two most important duties of the JP’s are to approve a county budget and levy taxes. There are eleven JP’s in Phillips County and each represents a section of the county. The districts boundaries are drawn after the completion of each census and the JP districts represents approximately the same number of county residents.